The present invention relates generally to a printing apparatus and method and, more particularly, to a transaction printer of the type used in printing certain documents, such as negotiable instruments, tickets, coupons and the like.
Printing mechanisms are used in various applications. One such application is the printing of money orders at a retail establishment. A known money order generating system includes a terminal with a keyboard for entering data and a printer mechanism for printing the money order. Such a system has been sold as the AMOD 2000 system by integrated Payment Systems, Inc. of Englewood, Colorado. The terminal of this system may be located near a point of sale location and in some instances may be connected to a cash register. A host system may provide accounting functions and verification functions and may even control operation of the printer.
Known money order generating systems such as the Amod 2000 include a supply of blank money order forms loaded into the terminal by an authorized individual. The terminal is then, typically, locked to prevent access to the blank money order forms by unauthorized persons. Generally, the individual loading the blank forms, enters a pre-printed starting sequence number for the forms that have been loaded. As the money orders are printed and dispensed from the terminal, the terminal maintains a record of the money orders as they are printed. However, the terminal assumes that the money order number is the starting number entered plus the number of money orders printed since loading. The terminal has no way of confirming the number that is preprinted on the money order. In instances where a paper jam occurs in the printer mechanism or some other occurrence necessitates the removal and destruction of one of the blank money order forms from the printer, the information maintained by the host computer is erroneous. Thus, the amounts assigned to a particular money order number will not match when the money orders are returned for reconciliation with a ledger maintained by the system.
Because blank money order forms are negotiable instruments for large amounts of money, provision must also be made to maintain security of the money order generating system both electronically and mechanically. As used herein, the forms held in storage are negotiable instruments in that they comprise completed signature blocks. Access to a compartment containing the blank money order forms must be restricted only to authorized individuals and provision must be made to restrict the ability to pull the blank money order forms from the printing mechanism and any associated feed mechanism.
One problem associated with prior systems is security in the event of a power loss. If power is lost during printing and the chain of blank forms is still intact, an unauthorized party may be able to extract blank forms from the device by pulling the form being printed. Prior systems have used complex mechanisms to trigger pins that are forced into the paper chain when tension is sensed on the chain. Such systems are susceptible to failure and false activation due to their complexity.
The present invention provides a new and improved transaction printer which is capable of printing and dispensing negotiable instruments, such as money orders, official checks, other retail items such as gift certificates, coupons and tickets and other printed documents having value. For purposes of explanation, the invention will be described as it would be used in a money order dispensing application. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to this application.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the printer includes an interconnected printing module and feeder module. The printing module includes a printing member, preferably a printhead assembly which is mounted for transverse movement with respect to a path of movement for a print medium, which may comprise, for example, money order forms. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the printhead assembly carries a sensor which is used to detect the leading edge of the money order form. According to one embodiment, the sensor reads a xe2x80x9ctop of formxe2x80x9d mark preprinted on the money order form. The xe2x80x9ctop of formxe2x80x9d mark serves as a reference by which printing positions and other functions, i.e. bursting, are determined. The sensor may be used to detect other alignment marks printed on the form. According to an alternate embodiment of the invention, the sensor directly detects the leading edge of the money order form, and/or a second xe2x80x9ctop of formxe2x80x9d mark to assure correct form position.
The sensor is also operative to read preprinted indicia or symbology on the money order forms. This symbology may comprise, for example, bar codes, binary codes, characters to be ready by optical character recognition systems, magnetic characters to be read magnetically or any other form of encoded material. When the printer is used in the illustrated money order dispensing application, each individual money order form includes a preprinted bar code which among other information includes the money order number. When the printer is coupled to a host computer, the bar code information is read by the sensor on the printhead assembly and is sent to the host computer which uses this information to verify operation of the printer and to track accounting information associated with the generation of each money order. Should a bar code not be sensed or an inappropriate code read after multiple attempts, further operation of the printer would be inhibited by a local system until the problem is attended to and corrected. The local system serves to direct operation of the printer and may comprise, for example, a terminal, a personal computer, a point of sale device, a network server or other suitable processing system. The present invention also contemplates a printer in which operation of the printer is inhibited using a mechanism and/or software contained within the printer itself.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the feeder modulel includes a receptacle compartment for containing a plurality of blank forms which may comprise a chain of interconnected negotiable instruments such as money orders. A first feed mechanism is used to advance the lead money order from the receptacle. A bursting mechanism forming part of the printer is used to sever the lead money order from the supply of blank money order forms when the lead money order has advanced to a predetermined position. According to one embodiment of the invention, the burster is located in the feeder module and the money order form is not severed until the sensor carried on the printhead is used to verify that the correct document is present and is positioned correctly.
In a more preferred embodiment, a burst sensor is also provided for detecting failure of the burster mechanism to severe the lead money order. In the illustrated embodiment, an optical sensor is located downstream of the bursting mechanism and detects failure of the document to separate from the document supply.
The printer includes a second feed mechanism which is used to feed the severed money order form through a printing station, forming part of the printing module, where the money order information including a receipt is printed on the money order form. According to one embodiment, the system is arranged such that a blank money order form includes two transverse portions, the leading portion in the path of movement of the money order through the printer being a receipt portion and the lagging portion being the negotiable money order itself. The bar code is preferably preprinted on the receipt portion of the money order form at a predetermined location near the leading edge of the form.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a single drive motor is used to drive both the first and second feed mechanisms. A coupling mechanism, which may be solenoid operated, is used to couple the first feed mechanism associated with the feeder module to the second feed mechanism in the printer. In operation, actuation of the coupling solenoid and drive motor drives both mechanisms. With the coupling solenoid deenergized, the drive motor only drives the second feed mechanism.
According to another feature of the invention, a provision is made for inserting an external print medium such as an sheet of paper, directly into the printer. With this feature, other documents, such as transaction summaries, reports or log sheets can be printed by the printing module without the need for removing the money order forms from the feeder or separating the feeder module from the printing module.
In a further embodiment of this feature, the provision is provided by a slot through which the external print medium is inserted into the paper path of the feeder. According to this embodiment, a gate mechanism is located near the base of the slot which is movable between opened and closed positions. Under predetermined operating conditions, the gate mechanism moves to a position at which the slot is blocked inhibiting insertion of external print medium into the paper path. In the preferred embodiment, the gate mechanism includes ribs aligned with openings in a support plate over which the money order forms travel during printing. When a money order is being advanced, the openings are blocked thereby preventing the gate mechanism for moving to its opened position at which an external print medium can be inserted.
According to another feature of the invention, the feeder module is coupled to the printing module by a locking mechanism which allows only authorized personnel to separate the feeder module from the printing module in order to gain access to the blank money order forms held in the compartment forming part of the feeder module. According to one embodiment, this mechanism is a software controlled system to prevent the necessity of mechanical keys.
According to one embodiment of the this feature, a pin/slot arrangement is provided which comprises a spring biased, solenoid operated pin on the printing station engaged with a slot formed on a tongue extending from the feeder module. At least one of the locking elements is tapered, preferably the pin, to enable the feeder to be coupled with the printing module without requiring an unlocking operation. The tongue displaces the spring-loaded pin connected to the solenoid when the feeder module is moved into place on the printing module. When the feeder module reaches its installed position, a hole in the tongue is aligned with the pin which allows the spring-loaded pin to move into the hole thereby preventing separation of the feeder module from the printing module. The feeder module can only be removed by energizing the solenoid to retract the pin.
The printer is connected to a local system. The local system controls actuation of the solenoid by requiring the input of a special password or security code by an authorized user at the printer location in order to actuate the solenoid and thereby permit the feeder module to be separated from the printing module.
According to a further aspect of this feature, a provision is made to verify the money order supply after the feeder module is reattached to the printer. In the preferred embodiment, upon attachment of the feeder, the lead money order is advanced to the verifying position at which the indicia, i.e., barcode is read by the sensor. Data related to the indicia read by the sensor is transmitted and may be compared with previously stored data to determine whether the money orders now in the module are in sequence, properly installed, etc. After completing this initial verifying step, the lead money order form is retracted by the feed mechanism to await a command to print a money order. This feature, reduces the possibility of tampering with the money order supply. Since, in the preferred embodiment, a password must be keyed into the system in order to unlock the feeder from the printer, data relating to the time of day and identity of the individual who keyed in the information can be maintained so that should the initial verifying step determine a problem with the money orders, the source of the problem can be more easily traced.
According to another embodiment of the invention, unauthorized removal of the lead money order, while still connected to the money order supply, is inhibited. According to one embodiment, an interlocking cover arrangement is provided to restrict access to the paper path, while the lead money order is still connected to the money order supply. By the use of interlocking structure between the covers that provide access to the interior of the printer module, the covers can only be opened after the feeder module is decoupled from the printer module. In other words, the printer module covers can only be opened after the feeder-to-printer coupling mechanism is released. In addition, the paper path in the printer module is arranged such that the leading edge of the money order being processed is not accessible from the output end of the printer module until it has been severed from the rest of the supply. In addition, portions of the cover are positioned in the paper path to prevent an individual from gripping the leading money order by reaching through the exit of the printer module while the money order is still connected to the rest of the supply.
According to an alternate embodiment of this invention, a feeder locking mechanism is provided for inhibiting removal of money order forms from the printer by someone pulling on the lead money order. According to this embodiment, the feeder locking mechanism includes a member that is operative to pinch the lead money order between a pinch arm and structure forming part of the paper path. A clamping arrangement may also inhibit rotation in one or more rollers forming part of the first feed mechanism. The feeder locking mechanism may be unlocked by linkage operated by the coupling solenoid which also operates to couple the first feed mechanism to the second feed mechanism whenever money order forms are to be advanced from the feeder module.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, the printer includes structure by which it may be locked to a support surface, such as a tabletop or counter in a retail environment. According to this embodiment, the printing station includes a retractable lock member which is extendable downwardly from the printer. The locking member is intended to extend through a hole formed in the tabletop and includes a slot or hole through which a locking device can be installed in order to secure the printer to the tabletop and prevent its unauthorized removal. According to another embodiment, the strip is slidably held to the printing module and the retracted position of the strip is maintained for applications where the locking member is not used.
According to another feature of the invention, the feeder locking mechanism may be unlocked, one time, by inserting a special, hand-held key or tool to release the feeder module from the printer module. As described above, a solenoid operated pin, preferably under the control of software, is used to lock the feeder mechanism to the printer. In the event of a failure in the circuit for energizing the solenoid, or in the event of a total power failure, the key allows the user to decouple the feeder from the printer in order to remove and secure the money order forms. In the preferred embodiment, the hand-held key locks itself within the printer upon insertion and can only be removed by a service technician. In this way, unauthorized multiple uses of the key are inhibited. In the preferred and illustrated embodiment of this feature, an internal slot in the side frame of the printer is adapted to receive the specially shaped key. A frangible cover section overlies the frame slot and is pierced by the key as it is inserted. Gripping members, such as claws, forming part of the key engage the side frame upon insertion and prevent its removal.
A ribbon cartridge is also disclosed which is usable with the disclosed printing apparatus. The ribbon cartridge includes a housing defined by a cover and base which forms a ribbon supply chamber. According to one aspect of the invention, the cover is held to the base by a pin/socket arrangement. The sockets which are preferably molded in plastic include a plurality of radially directed ribs which define an opening smaller than the cross-section of the pin. When the cover and base are assembled, a pin associated with the cover enters a socket associated with the base, in an interfering relationship. In the preferred embodiment, the ribs in the socket deform to accommodate insertion of the pin. The interference fit provided by the pin/socket engagement maintains the cover to the base. It should be understood, however, that the position of the pins and sockets can be reversed, i.e., the pins can be formed in the base and the sockets formed in the cover.
According to a further feature of the ribbon cartridge, molded spring arms are used to apply forces to confronting drive members that are used to advance the ribbon. At least one of the fingers include a T-section which cooperates with an abutment to provide a resilient biasing force against an associated drive member. With the disclosed T-bar arrangement, consistent forces can be applied to the ribbon which normally travels through a nip defined by the drive members. In addition, reduced torque is needed to rotate a ribbon driving members.
A more complete understanding of the advantages of the present invention may be acquired by referring to the detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying Figures in which like reference numbers indicate like features and wherein: